Don't Stop - Modify

Jay and I discuss this often, the instinct when we have pain or an injury, to stop everything and wait for everything to be better. The trouble is, as with life, nothing is ever that simple.

Have you ever started an exercise program only to get bogged down with an injury in the early days? Feeling like all that you had got excited for or planned is up in smoke. This is so much more common than you think. Your body is not used to something (even if its just been a little while), and after the first few sessions you get an ache or pain that persists? More often than not, it is just your body having a reaction to the new activity, a strained muscle or joint, complaining with the changes you are making.

Every time we load our body in a different way than we used to our muscles and joints are put through there paces, sometimes pushing a bit too far out of the range or strength we can handle at that point in time. There is commonly an age related factor here, sometimes it is because we either have had a break from training because of work, having a baby or life. Our bodies are amazing, we are constantly in flux, our bodies adapting to the load we place on it, so less load, less need for the joints and muscles to keep it up. Our body does not waste its energy, nor does our brain. If we don't use it we loose it.

As a Physio, this is a very much a part of my daily considerations, professionally. Almost every client will need an adjustment to what they do, in work, life and exercise while they recover from what ever may be affecting them at that time. My experience however, almost always dictates that adjustments are needed, not stopping activities or training.

So what do you do when you find you are struggling with a change of load, or even an injury?

• Firstly, get advice about what is really wrong, a diagnosis is the first step to knowing what is safe

• Its always best to prevent any injuries, and experience dictates that people always push themselves to much when starting a new program, start and proceed gradually, give you body a chance to adjust to the changes.

• When faced with a barrier to your exercise program, look at what you can do without pain or worsening symptoms

• If your injury is serious, look are what else you can do to keep the rest of you body active, for instance, if you hurt your knee, you can still exercise other joints, or the other leg or upper body.

• Find out from your Doctor or Physio what you can't do, and do every thing you can

• Something is always better than nothing. When you get stuck in a rut, do something. A walk, a class, move more.